Why is Christopher Columbus credited with discovering America, when he definitely was not the first person here (Natives and Norse explorers were there before he ever was)?
The short answer: his accidental discovery started the huge chain of events that got us where we are now.
He got lucky to be born at a time when world exploration was gaining in popularity. The answer has less to do with who got there first, and who had the best timing and connections.
That’s not to say his stumble here was insignificant, but what actually happened?
Most people have touched on this in their early school days, but it seems most people cannot recall the true beginning of America. Most people do not understand the depths of America’s origin. We’re here to fix that.
Who was Christopher Columbus?
First, we must understand who Columbus was and what he wanted. How did a man who didn’t even know where he was in the world get this huge credit?
There is not much consistent information on his early life, and some can’t even agree on where he was truly from, but he was on the water well before his discovery. He gained experience and learned about these routes from travels to Africa and other trips through the Atlantic Ocean.
Through his experience, he theorized that the Canary Islands were only a few thousand miles west of Europe, and there was an easier way there. The original idea behind his expedition was to sail west, all the way around the earth from Europe to Asia. He essentially thought where North America is, was wide open ocean, as if North America was never there and the globe was shrunk to fit that adjustment.
Their previous expeditions to Asia were taken east, but due to increasing dominance of opposing states (Ottoman Empire and Islamic states according to Britannica), the routes they were taking became more dangerous to them as time went on. Not to mention the route was already treacherous.
The Big Idea
Christopher Columbus had the idea to go west to the Indies (India) long before he carried it out. It was not originally his idea, but he pushed for it heavily regardless of what others thought. Some say the idea goes as far back as Aristotle. In fact, Columbus studied and used maps made by a man, Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli, born 100 years before his trip.
Plus, it is blatantly obvious that others had the idea to go “the other way” since it was already inhabited.
He offered the idea multiple times, but got rejected. Some of the rejections came because he believed the earth was much smaller than it actually was. Many people told him and most believed the earth was as big as we know it is now, but he wasn’t convinced.
Of course, he was motivated by wealth and popularity, but the idea of spreading Catholicism and competing with the Eastern powers helped get the eventual approval of Spain’s Monarchy. It’s eventually stated that Queen Isabella of Spain said yes and concurred with his reasoning.
After The Yes
After the monarchy of Spain said yes, he went on the iconic 1492 voyage.
Christopher Columbus officially sailed west with his ship and three others.
Remember, he was thinking this route would take him to India. After two months at sea, he landed in the Caribbean. So no, when he sailed the ocean blue in 1492, he didn’t even hit the main land.
Columbus was surprised when he reached land because instead of the descriptions of Indians (described by Marco Polo and other explorers versed in the Indies), he found what we know to be Native Americans.
Columbus actually never learned he was not in Asia. He died thinking he reached the Indies on this western route, and stood by his claim that the earth was significantly smaller than it actually is. He thought that he did not recognize the continent because he just hadn’t researched and learned enough about it.
Needless to say he was disappointed in what he found. There were no large cities or advanced civilization like he read from explorers before him. He had never been to India before, even from the eastern way, so he wasn’t able to say he was wrong from experience.
Chain of Events
Now to actually answer the question we’ve been waiting for. The background information was necessary so you know why Columbus was coming here, and why his discovery made him so popular, despite the fact he was wrong about half of it.
What gets Christopher Columbus all this credit is the fact his idea to go west worked. He went west on a less dangerous route, and actually found land.
“What about all the other people who came to America first?” The main difference was the impact it had. As stated before, Christopher Columbus was on the cusp of “The Age of Exploration.”
Those earlier arrivals didn’t connect the Old World and the New in a lasting way. Columbus’s voyage did since he was directly reporting to the world powers of the time.
His landing opened the door to global awareness, leading to continuous contact, colonization, and what became the Columbian Exchange. This was the massive movement of plants, animals, people, and ideas that Columbus was the catalyst for. Reporting back to one of the strongest monarchies at the time will do that for you.
As word spread, the European powers (unsurprisingly) could not help themselves. As Europeans came and went, this route gained popularity, leading to consistent contact with the New World. This constant contact eventually led to the desire to settle permanently to leave direct control from the British – but that’s a story for another time (next time to be precise).
Overall, Columbus gets this insane credit because he initiated this insane chain of events, and had the help of some insane connections.
What Wasn’t Mentioned
It’s important to note that not everything about Christopher Columbus was good. His expeditions marked the beginning of harsh colonization, the enslavement and suffering of Indigenous peoples, and the spread of deadly diseases that devastated native populations. These are dark and undeniable parts of history that changed the Americas forever.
But that isn’t the focus here. This post isn’t about justifying Columbus. It’s about understanding why he is the one who receives so much credit for America.
Our goal is to look at how his voyage fit into the larger chain of authority, power, and exploration that shaped the world that followed.
By understanding why he was given this recognition — not whether he deserved it — we can better grasp how history was recorded, who wrote it, and how those narratives still influence our understanding of America’s beginnings today.
References:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Christopher-Columbus
https://www.britannica.com/topic/European-exploration/The-Age-of-Discovery
https://www.biography.com/history-culture/christopher-columbus#columbus-1492-route-and-ships
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/35951/critics-of-columbus-day-get-history-wrong-scholar-says
https://www.americanheritage.com/everything-you-need-know-about-columbus
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/columbus-confusion-about-the-new-world-140132422
AI assisted in editing
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